Railway signal torpedo



F. BUTCHER- RAILWIAY SIGNAL TORPEDO. APPLICATION FILED MAY 26, 1921.

1,41 5,813. Patented May 9, 1922.

A p dd UNITED sTArrs PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK BUTCHER, 0F VERSJMLLES; PENNSYLVANIA, ASSllICrNUR Tl) CENTRALRAIL- WAY SIGNAL COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORIQRATION OFNEW J ERSEY.

RAILWAY SIGNJ-liL TORPEDO.

1,411 Application-filed May 526,

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, F ame: Dntronnn, a citizen of the United States,residing at Versailles, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway Signal Torpcdoes, of which the following a specification,reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in railway signallJOI'IJGflOGS,h,I1(l more particle larly to a novel means of attachingthe railengaging member to the powder containing case.

The object of this invention is to provide a torpedo and rail-attachingmember therefor embodying a novel means of attachment between thetorpedo and the rail-attaching member.

Another object of my invention is to provide a railway signal torpedocomposed of a paper or fiber case and having a metal rail-attachingmember.

A further object of my invention is to provide a railway signal torpedowhich is so constructed as to eliminate the danger of fly ing particlesand fragments when the explosion occurs.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a rail-way signaltorpedo provided with a rail-attaching member Which will be cheap andsimple of manufactln'e an d. efficient in operation.

Other and. further objects and novel features of this invention willappear in the :liillowing description and drawings:

In the drawings:

Figure 1. is a perspective view of a railway signal torpedo embodying myinvention.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View of the torpedo shown inFig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 33 ofFig. 2.

In the accompanying drawings, like parts are designated by similarreference numerals throughout the description.

To those skilled in the art of the manu facture of railway signaltorpedoes, it is well-knownthat the raiLattaching member, which holdsthe torpedo to the track, must be firmly secured to the torpedo and mustbe constructed to hold the torpedo securely to the track. If either theconnection between the rail-attaching member and the torpedoSpecification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 9, 1922.

1921. Serial Ne. 472,626.

or the torpedo and the track become broken and the torpedo displacedfrom the track, a serious accident might occur, as the engineer will notget the intended signal.

My invention resides in constructing a torpedo in a manner so as toavoid the possibility of the torpedo becoming displaced once it isfastened to the railroad track and. resides further in a novel means ofattaching a metal i'aitattacliing member to a torpedo having a paper orfiber case. I

Referring now to the drawings, 1 designates the explosive which iswithin a wrapper having crimped opposite ends 3 and l. Within thewrapper 2 and abutting the crimed end a thereof is a paper wad or disc5.

In making this torpedo, one end of the wrapper is first crimped and theexplosive is then poured into the wrapper. To provide against thepossibility of any of the explosive being set off by friction when acrimping tool is used. on the other end of the wrapper to close it, Iinsert the paper wad or disc 5 to retain the powder awry from theextreme end of the wrapper.

An open ended protecting case 6 com pletely encircles the wrapper andexplosive, as shown, and is provided with openings 7, the function ofwhich will be explained later.

The rail-attaching or engaging member 8 is approximately of aheart-shape, terminating in the inwardly and upwardly bent ends 9 andhaving the V-s "tped bends or depressions ill) in its top or i mightedge 1].. 1 ref erably' the rail -e1' a lng member of g metal, as in,but I do not limit to this particular material as other similar or likematerial. can be used without departing from the spirit of my invention.

As will be clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the rail-attaching member 8 iscarried within the case 6, the ll-shaped depressions 10 of therail-attaching member registering with and Jrotruding outwardly throughthe openings of the case. The cross-sectional area of the wrapper andthe case are such as to provide a tight fit of the wrapper in the caseso that when the torpedo is assembled the rail-attaching member isclamped firmly in place.

Attention is directed to the fact that the adjacent walls of the twoV-shaped depressions 10 are L} 31J1()Xllllflllfll:j7 vertical and thatthey form looks or stops against the edges of the openings 7, to preventthe displacement of the rail-attaching member.

To complete the torpedo and to safeguard the explosive from dampness,the torpedo is dipped into a water-proof bath.

It will be readily understood that when the torpedo is applied to arailway rail, the rail-attaching member 8 is expanded around the railhead and that the torpedo is held firmly in place upon the rail by thespring tension of the rail-attaching member.

Also it will be further noted that when the torpedo is struck andexploded, there will be no flying fragments or particles to causeinjury. The crimped ends 3 and 4c of the case will open and the greaterforce of the explosion will be through these open ends. After theexplosion has occurred, the rail-attaching member and flattened torpedocase will still be upon the rail-head.

Although I have shown my torpedo made in a cylindrical shape, I do notlimit myself to this construction, as my invention can be embodied inother shapes of torpedoes with out departing from the spirit of myinvention. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is 1. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosivecarried within an open ended case provided with openings in itsside, arail-engaging member provided with depressed portions carried within thecase and extending outwardly through its open ends, the openings in thecase and the depressed portions of the rail-engaging member registeringfor the purpose described.

2. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive carried Within acase provided with openings through its side, a rail engaging memberhaving approximately V-shaped depressions in its top, and therail-engaging member carried within the case and the V-shapeddepressions protruding outwardly through the openings in the case, forthe purpose described.

3. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive carried within acase provided with openings in its side, a rail-engaging member providedwith depressed portions carried within the case and extending outwardlyfrom the ends thereof, the openings in the case and the depressedportions of the rail-engaging member registering, for the purposedescribed.

4:. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive carried within acase provided with openings through its side, a spring rail-engagingmember having its top formed in a straight line and provided withdepressed portions, the rail engaging member having end portions in adiiiierentplane from its top portion, the rail-engaging member carriedwithin the case and the de pressed portions thereof registering with theopenings in the case and the extended end portions of the rail-engagingmember without the case, for the purpose described.

5. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive carried within anopen ended case provided with openings in its side, :1 springrail-engaging member provided with depressed portions carried within theease and extending outwardly through its open ends, the openings in thecase and the depressed portions of the rail-engaging member registering,for the purpose (lesi-ribed.

6. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive carried within acase provided with openings through its side, a spring railengagingmember having approximately V shaped depressions in its top, and therailengaging member carried within the case and the V-shaped depressionsprotruding outwardly through the openings in the ease, for the purposedescribed.

7. A railway signal torpedo comprising an explosive carried within acase provided with openings in its side, a rail-engaging member providedwith depressed portions carried within the case, and the openings in thecase and the depressed portions of the rail-engaging member registering,for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof 1 hereunto :iiiix my signature.

FRANK DUTCHER.

